Japan's TEPCO Renewable to buy British offshore wind power firm

TOKYO (Reuters) - TEPCO Renewable Power, a unit of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, said on Wednesday it will buy 100% stake in Flotation Energy, a British floating offshore wind power company, for an undisclosed sum.

The deal, signed on Nov. 1, marks the Japanese company's first equity investment in overseas wind power, and comes as part of its plan to develop 6-7 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind and hydroelectric power assets by 2030, expanding from the current generation capacity of 9.9 GW.

Flotation Energy, established in 2018 and based in Edinburgh, Scotland, has strength in early-stage projects such as planning, research and bidding, and holds preferential negotiating rights for the development of two offshore wind farm projects in the UK, TEPCO Renewable said in a statement.

The British company also has plans to develop offshore wind farms totalling 12 GW in the UK, Ireland, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.

Flotation Energy's experience and knowledge of floating offshore wind development and its global network will help accelerate the development of TEPCO Renewable's offshore wind business in Japan and abroad, the Japanese company said.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Jason Neely)